Collision
by constellation way
Summary: Violet's in San Fransokyo with her parents and her brothers, and she's not the kind to stand around and watch when someone throws himself into a burning building. All she and her brothers wanted was a vacation, but she ends up getting a lot more than she bargained for. Although Tadashi Hamada makes things just a little better. And Fred, too.
1. in san fransokyo

**this is kind of written completely for fun. heh. don't know where i'm going with this yet.**

* * *

When Fred meets Violet Parr for the first time, she's not what he's expecting at all.

His dad tells him that the Parrs are an old family friend who's staying for the summer, because apparently his old friend Bob Parr has some sort of work conference here in San Fransokyo and Stan's offered him a place to stay. For some reason, Heathcliff is oddly excited about having the Parrs over.

Whatever. As far as Fred knows, they're probably one of his dad's super-rich friends. He hopes they're not _too _stuck-up like some of the other families, though.

But when the Parrs arrive, Fred has to do a double-take.

Whatever he's expecting, it's definitely not this completely ordinary, normal family standing in front of him.

"Stan!" Bob Parr all but yells, and he grips Fred's old man in a bone-crunching hug that Stan just laughs and wriggles out of expertly, like he's used to it.

"It's good to see you too, Bob," he says, and he turns to the tall, brown-haired woman: "And you, Helen. Lovely as usual."

"I see your charm hasn't faded a bit," Helen says, and she smiles.

"Course it hasn't," says Stan. "Now, my wife's still enjoying the family island, but this is my son Fred." He motions for Fred, who moves up and grins goofily around at them.

Bob Parr looks like a big, friendly guy, and Fred likes him immediately. Helen Parr looks pretty friendly too, with a warm smile, and next to her is a round-faced toddler. Behind the toddler is a short blond boy who's maybe a few years younger than Tadashi's brother Hiro, and next to him –

Fred thinks he might just forget to breathe.

She's pretty. Like, kind of unconventionally pretty, but definitely pretty. She's got long dark hair held back with a hairband, and she's got large, round eyes in a narrow pale face, and she's dressed simply in jeans and a sweatshirt.

His mind's made up. He _has _to know this girl.

* * *

She tells him her name's Violet. He tells her it's a pretty name. She raises her eyebrows in surprise.

"It _is _kind of, like, a pretty name," he tells her.

Violet just smiles, shakes her head. "You don't get around with girls much, do you?"

Fred grins at her. "Guilty as charged," he says, and holds up his hands. "Which, by the way, I really don't understand, you know. How can anyone, like, not want to date this fine specimen of a human being standing before you now?"

She laughs, then, and he thinks it's a wonderful sound. Even better than listening to his friends chatter, even better than the shrieking and the roaring in some of his favourite movies, even better than listening to his friends talk a load of science junk he doesn't understand at all.

And then suddenly, a horrible thought comes into his head: "You don't have a _boyfriend_, do you?"

Violet looks over at him, amused. "I used to. We broke up a few months ago."

"Oh." Fred pauses, and then offers: "Sorry?"

"For what?" she asks. "You didn't know him. Besides, it was a mutual thing. Spending two and a half years together is no joke."

Violet's face softens, just slightly, as she thinks of Tony Rydinger. She'd definitely never expected their relationship to last for so long, a relationship that began when she was just fourteen. But they'd gotten along well, they'd cared for each other. They still do. It's just that they care for each other as friends, now, and that's about it.

She doesn't really mind. Tony's a good friend.

"That's a long-term relationship," Fred says.

Violet just shrugs. What's she supposed to say, to this strange guy in the baggy clothes and the shaggy hair? He's Mr Lee's only son, she knows, and she guesses he's pretty nice, but she really doesn't want college-age guys making a move on her. Even if he's failing at it, and badly.

(She thinks it's kind of cute, though, in a weird way.)

"Hey, you want a tour around San Fransokyo?" he asks her, suddenly. "Or are you, like, hungry? Because there's this café my friends' aunt owns. It's totally cool. And they've got really good donuts."

Violet can't help but smile. "Okay, sure."

His face lights up. "Really?"

She can't help it – she laughs again. "Yes, really."

* * *

It's just the two of them, because Fred has introduced Dash to his huge video game system and Helen says she'll take care of Jack-Jack. Violet doesn't miss the wink her mum sends her as Fred waits for her to walk out the door, before following her.

She has to scoff. Helen's been trying to find her another boyfriend since she broke up with Tony. It's not like Violet _needs _a guy in her life. That's total bullshit. She's perfectly happy single. And while Fred is undoubtedly nice, he's not really her type.

He brings her to a place called the Lucky Cat Café, where he heads straight for a huge group of people sitting at the table.

Violet, of course, has already memorised the route to the café and has absorbed the city – part of what she's trained herself to do. She takes in the counters, the brown-haired woman behind them, the tables and the customers and the carefully-displayed pastries, and she looks for the best hiding places, the best look-out, the best way of escape.

She does this quickly, efficiently. And then she turns to the group of people that Fred's headed over to.

There's a large African-American guy who's smiling easily. There's a tall, blond, skinny girl with bright pink spectacles. There's a short Asian girl with a purple streak in her hair who's snapping her bubblegum. And then there's a kid, maybe a few years older than Dash, who looks so wonderfully at ease with this group of college kids.

Violet blinks.

"Violet!" Fred calls, and she makes her way over, finding a smile. He turns to his friends: "Guys, this is Violet. She's, like, my dad's friend's daughter. Staying for the summer. Violet, this is Wasabi, Honey Lemon, GoGo and Hiro."

"Interesting names," Violet says, and she smiles at them. "It's great to meet you guys."

"It's amazing to meet you!" Honey Lemon gushes, and Violet has to hold back a wince. Honey Lemon reminds her of a couple of overly-preppy girls back at school. Not that she dislikes those kind of girls, exactly; she's just never gotten along with them particularly well.

"I've got some advice for you," Wasabi tells her. "First of all, don't go too near Fred. He hasn't done laundry in months."

"Hey!" Fred complains. "I'm, like, totally wearing a new set now, man."

"You? A new set of clothes?" GoGo raises an eyebrows. "Is the world ending yet?"

Hiro laughs. "Did you do it for her?" he asks Fred, and gestures at Violet. It's instantaneous; his face goes red immediately.

"No," Fred says. But Violet can tell he's lying, and she doesn't know whether she wants to slap her forehead or blush furiously.

"So, Violet," Wasabi asks her, "how old are you, anyway?"

"Turning seventeen," she tells him. "Going for my last year in high school."

"Cool!" Honey Lemon says. "Have you thought about what college you want to go yet? Have you considered the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology? Because it's amazing! We can totally show you around!"

Violet grimaces: "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not that interested in stuff like that."

GoGo snaps her bubblegum again, and Violet thinks she's about to open her mouth and say something, when someone stumbles across to their table: "Oh, man, sorry to keep you guys waiting!"

Violet turns, then, and she sees a tall boy who looks vaguely like Hiro, with a baseball cap pulled over his head.

Her heart flips over inside. Just a little. Because _damn this boy is cute_.

"It's about time," Hiro grumbles.

The guy just chuckles sheepishly; and then his eyes rest on her, and he smiles widely. "Hey."

She finds her voice. "Hi."

"Oh, this is, like, Violet, my dad's friend's daughter," Fred says to him. "Violet, this is Tadashi Hamada. He's Hiro's older brother."

"So, you're stuck with this guy, here?" Tadashi asks her, his eyes bright, his grin still there. "I think I you have my pity."

"Well, pity's always greatly appreciated, of course," Violet says, and she smiles back at him.

Okay, maybe she'll take back what she said about not wanting college-age guys hitting on her. Because this guy doesn't seem so bad.

* * *

**comments? **

**(this is on my delete-with-no-warning list, by the way, since it's written on the spur of the moment haha)**


	2. the showcase

**hey! so thank you so much for all the reviews. really. like, Stormgirl415, chibi-no-baka, DeathLadyShinigami, Lemon Dropz.**

**anyway, i'm going to keep this part short. i got some inspiration. i got some motivation. i wrote down the first things that came up in my head (which is why this only took like, an hour to write). **

**and, to Lemon Dropz: everything's kind of happening during the movie. don't kill me for adjusting the storyline here and there!**

**love you all.**

**hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It's not like Fred is totally infatuated with Violet or anything. Nope. Not at all.

He just finds her fascinating.

That's all.

She doesn't mind staying up late into the night with him, talking. They end up in the huge room he's taken over for himself, and though she's a little wary of the huge paintings and the figurines and the posters and everything else, she still curls up on the couch and she talks to him, and he listens while she tells him about Metroville and about herself, and she tilts her head and listens when he tells her about his own life, and he can't help but feel self-conscious every time she looks at him.

They walk through the huge, spiralling gardens and pavilion, and more often than not he can make her laugh as he talks animatedly. She listens, a lot more than she talks. She doesn't talk much, he realises, but when she does talk, it's with a smile and it's like his whole world is being lifted around him.

Although he does realise that she and Dash are pretty vindictive towards each other, and they bicker a lot. That's cool. Dash is fun to mess around with, too. Violet can be crazy and fun, when she wants to be. They end up planning and executing a ridiculously elaborate prank on Dash that leaves him stuttering in disbelief and completely embarrassed and Heathcliff cleaning up without batting an eyelash.

He tells her that he'll like to be able to transform into a giant monster that breathes fire, and that he'd like to be a superhero.

"A Super?" she asks, and the way she says it, it's like it's with a capital 'S'. "You want to be a Super?"

"Sure," Fred says. "Can you imagine how cool that would be?"

Violet shrugs. "I don't know," she answers. "It feels like a lot of responsibility to me."

She doesn't say much after that.

* * *

Fred really can't help but think that she's amazing.

She even helps out with Hiro and his showcase for the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. She's a bit like Fred – she doesn't have the knowledge, to be sure, but she's just as enthusiastic as Fred is, though admittedly in a lot less annoying way.

Although, they all notice she seems to know a _lot _about robots and how they work on the inside.

"I took apart a robot once," she tells them. "For – a project. It went crazy and nearly killed my family."

They laugh at that, but Fred can't help but think that the smile on her face is a little too tight.

They all grow to like her. Fred can tell she's a little reserved with Honey Lemon, but she seems to get along with GoGo well enough, and she shares Wasabi's – well, Fred supposes the best word is _passion _– for following the rules and having a strict order to everything, though she's definitely not as bad as him. Hiro looks up at her adoringly half the time and it's clear that she treats him like she treats Dash when they're not arguing.

And, with Tadashi –

It's not that Fred is jealous. Of course he isn't. Tadashi's, like, his best friend.

He just wishes his best friend was a little less charming.

She talks to him, she smiles at him, and Tadashi's even more charming than he usually is when he's speaking to her; and sometimes when Fred bounds up from where they've all been hanging out together, or helping Hiro, or whatever, he'll find them talking like they're in their own little world.

"You want to help people?" she asks him, once, when Tadashi is telling her about Baymax.

Tadashi nods eagerly. "I can't do nursing," he admits. "I tried it. I'm no good with blood." He sends her a smile then, and Violet's face softens. "So when I came over to SFIT, I thought maybe I could do something to do with my passion – you know, robotics – and help people as well. So I came up with Baymax."

"A personal healthcare companion," she says, as if in awe. "That's amazing. He can help so many people."

"That's what I was thinking." Tadashi beams at her.

"It's incredible," she tells him, and she smiles at him too, and Fred can't help the tightening feeling in his chest.

He's not jealous of Tadashi. Of course he isn't. He just wishes Tadashi would be a little less charming. And kind. And charismatic. And sweet. And funny. And maybe that he'd talk just a little less to Violet.

* * *

It's late one night when he ends up calling Tadashi.

"Fred?" he groans, when he picks up the phone and hisses into it. "It's two am!"

"I can't sleep," Fred admits. "Tadashi, man, you gotta help me."

"Help you? With what?"

"Violet!"

There's a long pause on the other end, and Fred figures he must be creeping out of his room so he won't disturb Hiro. Of course he's doing that. He's Tadashi. He is always considerate and thoughtful.

"Violet?" Tadashi says into the phone, finally, his voice at a normal volume now. "What do you mean?"

"You know how she looks at you," Fred says, mournfully.

"She's an amazing girl," Tadashi says, carefully.

"Yeah." Fred sighs. "She is. She, like, totally is."

"Fred," says Tadashi, and Fred can hear the smile in his voice: "If you want her to like you, just be yourself. Really. You want someone to appreciate and like you for who you are. Not who you're trying to be."

"You make it sound so easy," Fred says gloomily. "Everyone likes you."

"It's not that difficult," Tadashi laughs. "We like you. We all do. Trust me. There is someone out there for you. It might be Violet, it might not be her. But you gotta have faith in yourself."

"Maybe," says Fred, unconvinced.

"Hey," Tadashi says. "I'm serious. You are cool in your own way, Fred, and it's gonna take a special girl to realise that. If she doesn't, it's her loss."

"This is your big brother instincts kicking in, isn't it?" Fred asks, but there's a smile creeping over his face.

"Guilty as charged," Tadashi says. "You okay?"

"Guess I will be," Fred says.

* * *

Before long, it's the showcase, and Violet's helping them wheel in the huge bins that contain Hiro's microbots. Dash is here too, with the rest of her family, because they've never seen anything quite like this before and they think it'll be cool to check out.

It's the first time Dash is meeting them, and Fred can tell that he is completely taken with GoGo, who just snaps her bubblegum and looks at him, unimpressed.

It doesn't stop Dash from following her around the entire showcase.

When Hiro finally presents his microbots, Violet is beaming up at him from her spot in between Tadashi and Fred, and Fred thinks he can practically feel the happiness and pride rolling off her as the younger boy demonstrates his microbots.

When he finally takes a bow, it's Fred she grabs excitedly, eagerly, and the bright light in her eyes just say how excited she is for Hiro and his invention.

He thinks that she really is pretty amazing.

* * *

Violet's not an idiot, of course.

When Hiro's showcase ends, after the embarrassing moment where she turned and grabbed Fred's arm because she's just so happy for Hiro, she melts into the crowd and finds herself with the rest of her family. Dash has even drawn himself away from GoGo, his face serious.

"That's a powerful piece of technology," Bob Parr says, seriously. "In the wrong hands, it's dangerous."

"It is," Violet agrees. "But Hiro's not like that. He's much too careful with his inventions. He should be – he's spent weeks labouring over it. He's not going to let any bit of it get away from him so easily."

"Keep a sharp eye out," her mother tells her. "It's the perfect invention for _any _supervillain. It can do a lot of good, but it can do a lot of harm, too."

Violet manages a smile. "I know, Mum."

"His brother is very attractive," Helen adds, as an afterthought.

Violet slaps a hand to her forehead. "_Mum_!"

Helen laughs. "I'm just saying, honey. That's all."

Just then Fred appears next to them, his hands in his pockets. "Hey," he says to her. "You wanna go look at some more stuff before we head out to celebrate? Because I swear, Hiro is _totally _going to get a place in here after that show of his."

"Sure," Violet smiles, and Helen just shakes her head and hopes her daughter doesn't break the poor boy's heart as they walk away, Violet's long dark hair swinging behind her.

* * *

They end up taking a walk through the grounds, just the two of them, in the dark, after Tadashi and Hiro slope off to talk brotherly stuff. Fred's not really sure where they are.

"It's so beautiful," Violet says, as she looks up at the sky. "It's so peaceful and quiet."

"A little too quiet," Fred grins.

"Oh, you don't know how easy it is to get sick of noise," says Violet. "Day in, day out, never a moment's peace."

"Your city's like that?" Fred wants to know.

Violet shrugs. "My life's like that."

"Then I guess it's not that bad here, huh?" Fred says.

She smiles. "Not so bad at all."

Fred thinks his heart is flipping over in his chest, and there's the rapid _thump-thump _of something pounding wildly as she smiles at him in the moonlight, silvery-white light shining over her long raven hair, her eyes bright.

Then the alarm sounds.

They take one look at each other – and the next thing Fred knows, she's running, running towards the direction of the alarm.

It's all he can do to keep up with her. She's running like the wind, faster than anyone he's seen run before, like she's done it a million times before effortlessly. She doesn't stop, not until she skids to a halt outside the burning, fiery building.

When Fred finally stumbles next to her, it's to see the shadowy figures of Hiro and Tadashi by the door, to see Tadashi say something to Hiro before beginning to run into the building.

It's like Violet doesn't even stop to think. She hurls herself after Tadashi, like she's thrown herself into dangerous situations with the risk of death a million times before, flying into the building right behind him, so fast that she's just a blur of lanky limbs and flowing dark hair.

"No – " Fred gasps, and he stumbles after her, just as she disappears through the doorway right after Tadashi, the fire blazing hot, red and orange and yellow in the night sky.

She disappears inside, right behind one of the best friends that Fred's ever had.

And then the building explodes.

* * *

**sooo...any comments or thoughts? haha**


	3. supers

**first up, thank you _all _for the reviews! really gave me motivation to write this haha even though there are only like 6 favs/follows or something i don't know haha**

**but yeah. thank you to all who reviewed! i hope this chapter isn't too anti-climatic. or ridiculous. or something.**

**okay basically i kind of just hope you enjoy it haha**

* * *

Everything is a blur.

He can remember flames, red-hot and burning orange and shining yellow, licking at him, at his skin, at his clothes, as he hurtles himself into the building.

He can remember trying to breathe, and only inhaling smoke, dark grey and black and filling up his mouth, his nostrils.

He can remember pain, so much searing, fiery pain.

He remembers stumbling to the ground, stumbling into something, and it hurts hurts _hurts – _

And he's not quite sure, but he remembers a sudden coolness. A round purple bubble of energy surrounding him, a girl's worried face with dark hair falling around her shoulders, before there's a loud explosion and a rush and surge of heat and flames and he collapses.

* * *

When Tadashi wakes up, he's not sure where he is.

He's in a brightly lit room, unfamiliar, but comforting. He's in a bed, hooked up to some kind of funny contraptions, with machines lining the walls; but it's still comfortable, with bright walls and seats and shelves.

And next to him is a wide-eyed blond boy.

"What - ?"

Tadashi tries to speak, but his voice is hoarse and it hurts so badly.

"Vi!" the blond boy says, and he seems to vanish into thin air, a blur that he can't quite make out; and then he's at the door, pulling it open: "Vi, he's up!"

"Oh, thank God," a familiar girl's voice says, and then a familiar face peers through and enters the room.

"Violet?" he manages to croak. She looks familiar, so familiar, and it is a huge relief to see her but _what is going on_?

"Hey, Tadashi," she says, and she smiles at him gently as she slides into the seat next to his bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted," he says. "What happened?"

She winces. "The fire."

The fire. Suddenly everything comes hurling back to him; the fire, the showcase, Callaghan in the building, Hiro looking at him pleadingly with those large brown eyes of his –

"Professor Callaghan!" He tries to sit up, but he's forced back down almost immediately, coughing. "Where is he? Is he safe?"

Violet bites her lip. "They couldn't find a body," she admits, quietly. "It doesn't seem likely that he could have escaped the fire."

Tadashi stares at her, horrified. Callaghan – Callaghan is gone lost. His professor, his mentor, his teacher. And _he _is _here_. "But – then how am _I _here?" Suddenly another thought strikes him: "Where's Hiro? Where's my brother?"

It's as if Violet is suddenly drawing back into herself. She takes a deep breath, tucks a strand of dark hair behind her ear. The short blond boy is still lurking in a corner of the room, tinkering away at some of the machines, but Tadashi's only aware of how he's trapped in the bed and how Violet is avoiding his eyes.

"Violet," he says. "Where am I? Where's Hiro?"

She finally looks up at him, then, the shadows under her eyes dark, and when she speaks, her voice is ragged.

"They all think you're dead. Your funeral was yesterday."

_Dead. _

_Dead. _

_Funeral. _

_Yesterday. _

There is a whirlwind of thoughts flying around in his head, anger and pain and hurt and _what the hell is going on why do they think he's dead when he's so clearly alive_?

"Why?" Tadashi demands, angry suddenly, furious. "I'm alive, you're here, aren't you? I'm stuck on this bed! Why did you let them think I'm dead? Do you know what this will do to Hiro and Aunt Cass? I need to – I need to find them – "

"_This _is why we let them think you're dead!"

Violet is pointing, pointing at the bed that he is lying on, the bed he's been forcing himself to sit upright with every word he says to her.

And he realises that he's on fire.

"What the - ?"

It's not even two seconds later when a fire extinguisher is being sprayed all over him, the blond boy standing behind it like this is a normal, daily occurrence.

When the fire fades, Tadashi realises that he isn't burnt. Not at all. His skin, from what he can see, is a little red, but that's the extent of it – and the bed he's lying on is perfectly safe. The sheets aren't even scorched.

It feels like the whole world is spinning around him, and nothing is making sense.

"What just happened?" he finally manages to say, and it's so damn difficult to _breathe_.

Violet looks at him with her clear eyes, her face just a little sad.

"When you ran into the fire," she says, "you knocked into this bunch of chemicals that spilled over you or something, _and _you were hit by the fire before I could get to you. I don't know what was in those chemicals, but they seem to have seeped themselves into you, and your burns healed themselves on their own. That, and you've been spontaneously setting yourself and everything around you on fire for the past few days."

Tadashi blinks, trying to clear his head. _Chemicals. Seeped themselves into you. Burns healed themselves. Spontaneously setting yourself on fire_.

Why does she sound so _calm_?

Suddenly he realises another part of what she's just said.

"Before you got to me?" he asks, looking up at her. "But – the fire. Why did you come after me? Why aren't you burnt?"

Violet glances over at the short blond boy, who nods and shrugs and says, "I'll get Mum and Dad."

When he leaves, she turns back to Tadashi. "Have you ever heard of Supers?" she asks.

* * *

When Helen and Bob Parr finally walk in a while later, Jack-Jack with them, Tadashi is still trying to wrap his head around it. Supers. _Superheroes_. It goes against logic, it goes against science, but it's real. It's _real_. He's just set himself and his bed on fire and he doesn't even have a burn on him. Heck, Violet's just turned herself invisible in front of him, a headless figure in a dark sweatshirt and jeans. She's just made a forcefield appear in her hands, a cooling, purple bubble of energy that he now vaguely remembers encasing him.

"You're awake!"

Helen Parr is smiling at him warmly, and she sits next to him. "Are you feeling okay?" she asks, concerned.

He swallows, and nods.

"I know this must be a lot for you to take in," Helen says. "But we're all here for you. We know it has to be difficult, and especially for you to know that all your family and friends think you're dead. But it's safer this way. Just until you can get a lid on your powers. The sheets are made out of special fireproof material, and your clothes. We've all put on fireproof clothing too, so we don't get burnt. Once you've gotten some control over your powers, then you can go back to them."

Tadashi blinks at her, confused. He knows he should be more worried about his newfound powers, this – this _ability _to control fire, but something else is in his mind. "How?" he says. "How can I suddenly just come back from the dead?"

"Simple," says Violet. "You were rescued by the Incredibles, who were in town for a brief visit to an old superhero friend of theirs. You and me both. And we were taken care of until we got better."

She smiles at him brilliantly.

He just stares at her. "What?"

"Violet," says Bob Parr, "why don't you go and get some rest? You've hardly slept since you saved him from the fire."

"I'm fine, Dad," she says.

Bob takes her by her shoulders. "No, you're not."

He glances over at Tadashi, who somehow finds his voice: "You didn't sleep?"

"Yeah, she hasn't slept at all since she saved you, knucklehead," says the blond boy, leaning on the bed. "It took us nearly half an hour to separate her from you, she was so worried. She hardly stayed still enough for us to treat her burns."

"Don't exaggerate," Violet murmurs, but Tadashi sees her shift her eyes away from him.

There's a sudden swell of affection in him, for this dark-haired, dark-eyed girl with shadows under her eyes. She saved him. She looked after him. She's making sure he's okay.

He probably owes her everything.

* * *

They don't tell him where they are. But after a few days, Bob and Helen don't come down as often anymore, and it's really just Dash and Violet and Tadashi.

They try to help him out with his powers. Dash is quick enough to get away whenever Tadashi accidentally starts setting things on fire, and Violet's quick to throw up force fields. It's not easy, initially.

First Tadashi spends days trying to walk around on his own. It's Violet who helps out – she slowly helps him to his feet, and slowly she helps him to hobble around. He bursts into fire, a lot, but it's not so bad because Violet has encased herself in a purple force field that sticks to her so she can move around easily and not get burnt at the same time.

Sometimes, when she's not careful, she drops the shield, and Tadashi feels horrible because _he's on fire and he's hurting her_.

But she laughs, and after a while she pulls on long, black gloves that she tells him are made of fireproof material too, so her hands stay safe even when she drops the shield.

Then he has to learn how to control his power.

The first time he tries to summon fire on his own, he's so terrified he can't bring himself to do it.

So Violet talks to him.

"You know, for years, I didn't use my powers at all," she tells him, as they sit by a window staring out at wide gardens, bursting with colour, and a shining pavilion. "All the way until I was fourteen. I was so scared. So terrified. We were always being told that it was too dangerous."

"But your power's _safe_," says Tadashi. "I mean, you turn invisible, and your force fields can protect people!"

Violet smiles. "Maybe, but it was still dangerous, and there was always the chance we would be caught," she says. "I was so scared of being who I was."

Tadashi doesn't say anything; he sits opposite her, quietly, as she looks out the window.

He thinks he can understand why Fred is so fascinated by her.

"But when I was fourteen, I was nearly killed," she tells him, and there is a darkness in her eyes. "We all were. And I learnt, then, to control my powers. It's a part of who you are, you know. It's not a part that'll go away. And when you learn what you can do for yourself, you can learn how to do good with it."

"It's fire," Tadashi says, but somehow his argument feels weaker now, and it feels like his brain is turning slightly to mush when she turns her face to look at him (and _oh god what is happening to him_?); "Fire burns people. It hurts them."

"You can stop fire, too," she says. "And if you can learn how to control it, it can help a lot of people. Look at Dad. I mean, his super strength – it's crazy, you won't believe how many things he's wrecked or destroyed. And he has a massive hero complex, too. Just like you." She grins at him, a shy grin, and she nudges him as he lets out a guilty chuckle. "You _can _do this."

"You think so?" he asks her.

She just smiles again. "I _know_ so."

* * *

He asks her, one day, if there've ever been any Supers who gain their powers, like him. Like Spiderman and everyone else.

"Sure," she tells him. "I mean, Dad and Mum's got a couple of friends who are like that – not a lot, but a few. They always need some help controlling their powers." Violet shrugs.

"Thanks, you know," he tells her, suddenly, and when she turns to look at him he can feel his face turning slightly red. "For saving me. And helping me. And everything, really."

"It's what anyone else would've done," she says, and she smiles.

(He thinks the world would be a better place with more people like her.

But there'll never be anyone who can quite match up.)

* * *

He asks her if she's got news of Hiro. Sometimes his little brother is all he can think about – sometimes when he can't sleep at night, it's because he's thinking of his little brother, and his Aunt Cass, and wondering how they're coping without him.

Violet's face turns guilty.

"Not exactly," she admits. "But Dash is keeping tabs on them. He's very good at sneaking around."

"What has he heard?" Tadashi wants to know. "How is Hiro?"

Violet runs a hand through her dark curtain of hair, and for a sudden moment Tadashi wonders what it would be like to run his own hands through that silky hair –

_Stop_! He tells himself. _Not good. Bad thoughts. Go away. _

"He discovered that the fire was set on purpose," Violet tells him, and she watches as Tadashi raises his head, to stare at her with disbelieving eyes. "It was set on purpose so that someone could steal his microbots."

"It – _what_?"

Tadashi wants to jump out of his seat, jump out of the room, run to him, because he's _got _to find Hiro, he's got to – but as if she can sense what he's thinking, Violet throws up a force field around the both of them, trapping them in place.

"You have to let me out of here!" he turns to Violet, and he nearly sets himself on fire again; but somehow he manages to force it down, and he clenches his hands tightly at his sides: "I have to get to Hiro!"

"No, Tadashi – Tadashi, _listen _to me!"

She steps forward, grabs him by the shoulders, makes him look at her in the eye, even as he trembles, and he knows he's steaming. "Hiro is _okay_," she tells him. "Dash has been checking up on him. Sure, he's mad. Of course he is. But he's got Baymax with him."

Tadashi blinks, slowly, staring at her, at her wide eyes: "Baymax?"

"Yes," she says, softly. "Yes. Baymax is there. And he's helping Hiro get through this. You told me, remember, that Baymax is programmed to help people?"

"Not _emotionally_!"

"Tadashi – you have to trust me on this!"

He's suddenly aware his hands are on fire, and the heat is rising up; but Violet's hands are still on his shoulders, and she's not moving away. "Trust me," she repeats. "Hiro is _okay_."

He doesn't know how long it takes, but suddenly he drops to the ground and he realises he is shaking and shivering and he is here and _his brother is alone without him_, and Violet just holds him and stays with him.

She doesn't say anything, but she doesn't need to.

He just needs her there.

* * *

One night, Violet skids into the room where Dash is sprawled on the ground and Tadashi is on the bed, flipping through some novel that Violet's left behind once. Her eyes are wide.

"They're here," she says, to Dash.

Tadashi sits up, curious. "Who's here?"

She glances at him, glances at Dash, and then she swallows. "Fred. Hiro. Everyone."

"What?" Tadashi rises to his feet, his eyes wide. "They're _here_?"

She sends him one quick glance, almost apologetic, and then she turns back to Dash. "Heathcliff says that Fred doesn't know about this part of the mansion, but keep it down just in case," she says.

"Fred?" Tadashi demands. "Mansion?"

"I'll tell you later," Dash says to him, and then turns to Violet. "What are you gonna do?"

"Watch them, of course," she says grimly. "They're soaked to the bone, and they _walked _here. I think they got into some sort of trouble."

"Trouble?" Tadashi repeats, and he thinks of his little brother: "I have to go – "

"No," Violet says to him, firmly, and in a few long strides she steps forward and pushes him down; and suddenly, even with his thoughts full of Hiro and his friends, Tadashi is very aware of how close she is to him and her long dark hair and the smell of clean, fruity shampoo –

_No_!

"You need to stay safe," she says to him. "Look, it hurts, but you can't let them know that you're alive just yet, unless you want to start setting things on fire again. It's safer this way. Can you – can you _please_ just trust me on this?"

She looks at him with pleading eyes, and Tadashi swallows, and slowly, uncertainly, he sinks back onto the bed.

"Okay," he says.

She gives him a small smile. "Thank you."

She turns away from him, then, and Tadashi wonders why he feels so lightheaded suddenly, especially when he's got more important things to think about.

"Heathcliff will let you know if they come this way," Violet says to Dash, who sighs and nods from his place on the floor; and then, quite suddenly Tadashi's face flushes as she pulls off her sweatshirt.

"What are you _doing_?" he says, weakly, as he averts his eyes and he hears the soft _thump _as her sweatshirt hits the floor and then the sound of her jeans joining it. He is not going to look. He is _not _going to look.

"Changing," Violet says, and when he finally, cautiously turns around, he realises that under her clothes she's been wearing a fitting black-and-red suit that doesn't leave a lot to the imagination.

He swallows, hard.

"I'm going to go see what I can find out," she tells the two of them. "I'll be back later."

She doesn't seem to notice the fact that Tadashi can't tear his eyes away from her or that he's finding it a bit difficult to breathe as she slips on a black mask over her face, but he's pretty sure he can feel Dash's eyes boring into him.

* * *

After she's left, after Dash has told him about how they're actually in Fred's family's mansion (Tadashi is still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Fred is actually _filthy stinking rich_), the blond boy leans against the wall and asks him, "Do you like my sister?"

Tadashi is sure his face is bright red. "Wh-what?"

"Violet," says Dash. "Look, she's annoying and everything, but I'm not blind, you know. I _can _see the way you look at her."

Tadashi is _very _sure his face is bright red. "That's ridiculous," he stammers. "I mean, she's nice. She's – she's great. That's all."

Dash rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right," he says. "Look, don't just _like _her because she saved you and because she's been here for you all the time. That's not being fair to her. And especially not if she likes you too."

Tadashi wonders how a twelve-year-old boy can sound so wise for his years.

And then another statement suddenly makes itself clear to him: "She – she likes me too?"

Dash just looks at him, raised his eyebrows. "Ew," he mutters. "_That's _what you were thinking about? Anyway, I dunno. She seems to like you a lot. But I think she misses Fred too."

Tadashi doesn't really know what to say to that.

* * *

"They're doing _what_?"

Tadashi stares at her, horrified. Violet is still in that terribly-distracting suit, but his head's whirling from what she's just told him and Dash. "They're going to fight that thing on their own?"

"Yeah," Violet says, grimly. "He's giving them upgrades. Getting them to make use of their nerd skills."

"But they're going to get themselves _killed_!"

"You know one thing I've learnt?" Violet says to him. "It's don't underestimate little brothers." Her eyes flicker over to Dash, who's still sprawled on the ground, and who now grins at them. "They often prove to be a lot smarter than you think."

"But this is – this is _Hiro_! I can't let him – I can't – "

"Yes, you _can_," says Violet. "Look, if you can get your powers under control for the next few days, we can _both _get out again. We can both tell the world we're alive again. But you need to get your powers under control before you hurt someone or before you let yourself be revealed."

Tadashi takes a deep breath. "But Hiro – "

"You can keep a watch on him," says Violet. "They'll be practising in Fred's mansion. On the grounds. You can make sure they all stay safe."

Her words wash over him, soothing somehow, controlled, and he looks up into her dark eyes.

"Really?" he says, and he's aware of how much like a little kid he sounds, as he looks at her.

"Really," she tells him, and she smiles at him.

And then she turns away.

* * *

**umm. comments? please? (okay yeah kind of getting desperate for reviews haha i'm sorry) **


	4. tadashi is here

**hey! so, thank you guys so much for the response. and the reviews. and _everything_, really. i came up with this in, like, i don't know, less than an hour? so yeah, it might not be _that _fantastic, but i was feeling this story needs a little more hiro. **

**hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Scan complete."

"Baymax, what are you doing?"

Hiro takes a step closer towards the robot, who is staring intently at an empty space behind GoGo.

"Heart rate increasing rapidly," Baymax notes. "Slight burns and old injuries, a number of cracked ribs, broken arm, broken leg, and many other injuries from previous incidents, all healed. Apart from the sensitivity of these old injuries, you are in good health."

"Baymax, what the – "

"However, there are genes moulded into your DNA which accounts for your lack of visibility and other abilities not often accessible by a normal human being."

_Lack of visibility_.

It's as if something clicks in their heads. All at once, they've dropped into positions that most easily let them access their suit's 'accessories', as Honey Lemon calls it. Hiro can feel his heart racing rapidly, something that feels a lot like pure recklessness and panic nearly taking over him.

"Who's there?" GoGo says, sharply, her eyes on the ground, as if she's able to see where this mysterious invisible person is stepping.

For a moment, there is no response.

And then someone flickers into view.

The first thing that Hiro notices is the suit. It's red, bright, bold red, with an insignia at the front. The figure itself isn't very imposing – a girl maybe a couple of years older than him, pale and lithe with long dark hair and eyes that seem familiar, but the insignia on the front is unmistakeable.

Fred lowers the hood of the suit that hides his face, and his jaw drops.

"You're that Inviso-girl!"

"What? _No_!" Suddenly the girl looks furious. "Inviso-girl? Seriously? I told them _not _to call me that!"

"You're that Superhero girl!" Wasabi says suddenly, his arms falling to his sides. "The one from Metroville! Miss Incredible!"

The girl smiles a tight smile. "Yeah. Call me V."

"V?" Honey Lemon asks.

"You know," the girl says, "V for Vanish. Whatever. I'm not fond of Superhero names."

Hiro eyes her almost warily. He knows who she is, of course. Who doesn't? But it doesn't explain why she's _here_. Sneaking around on them.

"If you're a Superhero," Hiro asks, slowly, "what are you doing sneaking around here?"

"And what are you doing so far away from Metroville?" GoGo wants to know.

"To that first question," V says, "I'm sneaking around here because I know you're out to kick some bad guy's ass, and you have zero experience, and I'm here to make sure you don't do anything stupid. That, and I promised someone I would make sure you guys didn't harm yourselves. To that second question – haven't any of you heard of a _vacation_? It's not my fault bad guys like to pop up all over the place even when I'm away from home."

Hiro notices that Fred is looking at the girl very, very intently.

"Do I know you?" the older boy asks, almost cautiously, staring at her very hard. "'Cos I think I know you."

But Hiro's mind is working on something else.

"What do you mean, you promised someone we wouldn't harm ourselves?"

V adjusts herself so she's resting on her right leg, her hand on her hip, her dark hair swinging behind her, and Hiro frowns. Fred's right. There's something so very familiar about this girl, something he can't really place.

"Violet," Fred says, suddenly, and there's an odd expression on his face. "You remind me of Violet. She was from Metroville too."

Hiro winces, and he can see GoGo's face soften slightly at Fred's words. Three people died in that fire, and Hiro's not blind; he knows, just as everyone else knows, that Fred was, and still is, head over heels for Violet Parr.

Her parents have followed Fred's parents on their family vacation, Hiro knows. Dash, her little brother, is still in San Fransokyo. Hiro's often wondered why they haven't left this city where they've lost their oldest daughter, but then again, everyone has different ways of coping with their grief.

Something flickers in the Super's eyes.

"I know who she is," she says, quietly. And then her eyes go over to Hiro, and she raises a hand to her ear, where, Hiro realises suddenly, there is a communicator of some sort. She taps at it, speaks into it: "Hey, you. How is he?"

There's a soft crackle.

"He okay? Not setting anything on fire? Well, yeah, but these people are family, practically. They'll find out sooner or later. Yeah, you know what to tell him. Suit up. I'll bring them in."

She lowers her hand, glances around at them.

"So, you guys are trying to be superheroes," she comments, and then there's a glint in her eyes: "Are you guys up for practice?"

* * *

Hiro learns just how unfit his team is for taking on the guy in the Kabuki mask.

Trying to get the mask off Heathcliff is one thing. The butler stands there stiffly, without batting an eyelash.

V? She takes it on herself to wear the mask and get them to try and get it off her. Hiro's not sure how she's found out about their mission, but if she's been keeping an eye on them, he supposes that of course she would know.

He wonders if he should be more suspicious of her. He decides not to be. After all, she's a superhero, part of the Incredibles family, of all things! He's heard amazing stories, and about her especially. She's like Mr Incredible, her father; the protector, the one that always throws herself into things so that other people will be okay. She's one of the good guys, through and through.

And heck, she is _good_.

Even though she can't fully turn invisible with the mask, she's quick and fast and light, and she's almost impossible to grab hold of. She's dancing around them, really, while Heathcliff looks on with an impassive face, and after what feels like a hundred and one mishaps, it's GoGo and Wasabi who finally corner her, with Honey Lemon throwing some pink glunk of goo onto her so she can't escape and Fred and Baymax and Hiro in the rear.

GoGo's the only one fast enough to tear the Kabuki mask away.

V smiles at them through her black mask. "Impressive."

"And I am now completely exhausted," Wasabi wheezes, collapsing onto the nearest chair. "Man, you are _good_."

She smiles, shrugs. "Spend a couple of years fighting and you can do it all."

Suddenly her communicator comes into life and she taps at it, an unreadable expression on her face: "Yeah? You little twerp, please tell me – okay, good. Yeah, I'm coming down with them. _Yes_, she's here. Relax."

When she lowers her hand, she grimaces at GoGo. "By the way, I'm sorry about my brother."

GoGo raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"My little brother," she says. "You know, the one who calls himself _The Dash_?" V makes a face. "Yeah, he's kind of been keeping surveillance on you guys too, when I'm not around. He might be a little besotted."

For some reason, Hiro scowls, and his heart hurts suddenly. He thinks of Tadashi, of the hours the older boy would spend teasing him, making fun of him, encouraging him, helping him –

His hands clench into fists.

There's another funny expression on Fred's face, and Hiro suddenly remembers that Violet Parr's brother is called Dash. He winces. This must be painful for him too – it's a lot of reminders of Violet, even though Fred hadn't even known her that long.

"And I need to tell you all something." She turns to sweep her gaze over all of them, until her warm eyes finally land on Hiro, and there is something that looks a lot like regret and guilt in them. "Whatever you're about to see now – know that we did it for his sake, as much as yours. It was the only way."

"What are you talking about?" Hiro wants to know.

V just smiles a bit sadly. "Come on."

* * *

To their immense surprise, she leads them back into Fred's mansion and down a maze of corridors and hallways.

"Why are we _here_?" Fred wants to know.

V just chuckles slightly. "There's a lot more to your family than you might think."

"What?"

She just shakes her head, her hair a waterfall of cascading darkness, and she leads them down, and up, and left and right until she finally reaches a huge painting. She taps on it, and it slides open, and Hiro can feel his jaw dropping and he's pretty sure the rest of them must have similar expressions on their faces.

A secret _room_?

V leads them into a square room, a pair of double doors at the other end.

She knocks on them.

A boy slips out, maybe around Hiro's age, with the same kind of suit as V and a black mask and blond hair. Hiro recognises him immediately – the middle child of the Incredibles family, The Dash.

Hiro's pretty sure the suspense is going to kill him.

"He's going to set fire to something soon if he doesn't see them," the boy warns her.

"Who?" Hiro snaps, suddenly. "Look, I trust you guys because you're superheroes and everything, but what is going on? You tell us someone made you promise to keep an eye on us, and now you're leading us through Fred's mansion into some kind of secret hideout, and – "

"Hiro." The girl's eyes meet his, and Hiro is struck with the thought that he _knows _her. He knows he does.

Or maybe she just reminds him a lot of Violet.

Sometimes, when he thinks of Violet, there's a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest. Violet didn't _have _to jump into the fire after Tadashi. It was a suicide mission. He had a feeling that she'd known it.

But she hadn't cared. She'd thrown herself in.

Tadashi was _his _brother.

And he still misses him. Heck, he misses Tadashi so, _so _much.

"You have to trust me on this, okay?" V says, and she turns to The Dash. (God, that name is really stupid.) "He'll go in first."

The blond boy shrugs. "Okay. It'll probably be better that way, anyway."

V smiles, and she looks back at Hiro, and Baymax. "C'mon. You two can come in first."

Curiosity tugs at Hiro, and he nods. "Okay."

The blond boy ushers the rest of his friends through another pair of doors off the square room, with Fred asking what sounds like a million and one questions about Supers and their lives. Hiro has to chuckle. Of course Fred would ask these kind of questions.

He notices V staring at his retreating group of friends, an almost sad, forlorn look on her face. Then she shakes her head and turns to Hiro.

"Brace yourself," she warns him.

Hiro frowns in confusion. "Brace myself?"

Her lips twist into a smile, and she pushes open the door, gently, calling out: "He's here."

The doors swing open to reveal a brightly lit room, with a TV, machines and screens plastering the walls, a couch, a bed, large windows.

And on the bed is a lanky, muscular figure in jeans with the bottom folded up and green sneakers and a T-shirt and a familiar smile.

Hiro stops in his tracks.

It feels like the world is spinning around him, faster and faster and faster, and Hiro has to grip at the door and at Baymax as he lifts his visor and he stares at the figure on the bed.

His heart is pounding furiously.

The world is tilting around him.

V is smiling, gently, from her spot next to Baymax.

"Tadashi is here," Baymax says, and somehow the world slows to a halt and his brain stops whirling.

The figure on the bed smiles, puts a hand to the back of his head, and Hiro notices that his hair is dark and messy and sticking up and the ears are too big for his head and the smile is just a little too bright and so are the figure's eyes.

He can feel his vision going blurry.

"Tadashi is here," he repeats, faintly, and he flings himself across the room and onto the figure because _yes Tadashi is here_.

He can feel warm arms encircling him as the tears fall, and his body is shaking uncontrollably, and he's crying unashamedly as he clutches at his big brother.

"I missed you, knucklehead," his big brother says, his voice hoarse, and Hiro can feel a wet patch against his hair and he thinks that his big brother is crying too.

He doesn't care. Everything is okay now.

_Tadashi is here._

* * *

**so...comments? haha**


	5. the truth

**omg guys thanks for the responses! they were amazing. really.**

**anyway, i'm sort of really just going with the flow for this story, so hope it's okay!  
**

**i hope you like it!**

* * *

"You're okay."

It's all that Hiro's been able to say for the last ten minutes, clutching at Tadashi like he'll never let him go. Violet stands by the doorway, a small smile on her face. They look like they belong together, so perfectly, and it makes her heart ache just a bit that she's forced Tadashi to keep away from his brother for so long.

She's not an idiot. She knew she would've been found out sooner or later; after all, Tadashi has told her all about Baymax, and what he can do. She knows the scanner would've picked her up. She's discussed this with Dash.

It's only right that they bring the brothers back together. Hiro will find out, eventually, after all.

Violet's also grateful for the fact that Tadashi hasn't set anything on fire. Not just yet, anyway.

It feels like another five minutes when Hiro finally raises his head, rubbing at his eyes. "But – but how? And – and what about Violet? And – and you don't look like you've even been burnt?"

His voice is hoarse.

Tadashi glances over at her.

"Violet's okay," she says, and she thinks about how strange it is to be talking about yourself in third person. "I was nearby when I saw your brother and her run into the building. And I did the only thing I could do." She shrugs, spreads out her hands, and a forcefield flickers to life in her palms.

Hiro's eyes widen. "You saved them."

She shrugs again, nods.

"But – but why did you let everyone think they were dead?" he demands, angry suddenly, furious. Baymax is still standing quietly behind, his head moving from the two, red-eyed figures on the bed to the girl in the suit. "We all thought – we all thought – "

His voice breaks off.

Violet feels so much guilt, it's like it's eating her up inside. She glances over at Tadashi, whose eyes are still rimmed with red, clinging onto his younger brother like he never wants to let him go.

"It's not her fault, knucklehead," Tadashi says, gently. "It's – it's kind of mine, actually."

"_Yours_?"

* * *

"You just – you just set yourself on fire!"

"For a genius child prodigy, you're kind of slow, aren't you?"

Hiro can only gape at his brother in amazement, as the flames fade from his body, and the younger Hamada can climb into the bed next to his brother again. Forget all the upgrades all of them have made – Tadashi's a bloody _superhero_. With _fire powers_.

"This is _so sick_!"

"On the contrary," Baymax says, lifting his index finger: "Tadashi is perfectly healthy. However, his DNA indicates a mutation of some sort. This mutation does not seem to affect him physically, apart from the fact that he has just set himself on fire and has not sustained injuries of any kind."

V chuckles from her place in the corner. "You should've seen him when he first set himself on fire. He burnt all his clothes off."

Tadashi grins at her, and Hiro thinks that there's something very reckless about that grin: "Yeah? And did you like what you see?"

V stares at him for a moment, before flushing bright red, and Hiro's jaw drops. Is it just him, or is his brother actually _flirting _with one of the Incredibles?

For a moment, he thinks V's not going to answer.

Instead, the blush fades, and she just smiles, tilts her head.

"You tell me if _you _like what you see," she says, and she turns around, sauntering over to the door with her long dark hair swinging behind her, and makes her way out without a backwards glance.

Hiro notices Tadashi staring after her, a slightly misty look in his eyes.

Baymax says: "I have detected an erratic increase in Tadashi's heart rate."

* * *

If Fred doesn't shut up and if that blond kid doesn't stop staring at her, GoGo _swears _she is going to break something. Possibly, in fact, slice the armchair she's sitting on in half.

"You're telling me my dad has super-secret headquarters? But that's – why didn't _I _know?"

"He wanted to keep you safe from all this," The Dash tells Fred. "It can be fun, but – well, you tend to get a lot of people who want to kill you." He grins wryly.

Goddammit, he is staring at her again, she knows he is. Now GoGo understands why V apologised for her brother. She pops her bubble gum in annoyance.

Although, to be honest, he kind of reminds her of Dash, Violet Parr's younger brother. Cute kid, though she'd never admit it.

The door swings open then, and V peers in, glancing around at them. "You guys can go in now," she says. "I don't think he's going to set anything on fire."

"Set something on fire?" Fred cheers. "Someone's gonna set something on fire? That is _so _cool!"

The girl smiles. "No, Fred, no one's going to set anything on fire. At least, I hope not."

"The guy will do anything you ask him to, V," The Dash says. "Much better than your last boyfriend, anyway."

"I would tell you that your opinion's greatly valued, you little insect, but it's not."

There's no spite in V's voice, only amusement and teasing, and GoGo figures that the two siblings have this kind of banter all the time. It's kind of - it's kind of nice, to think of these famous superheroes as normal people with normal lives.

"Wait, wait, wait," says Wasabi, getting to his feet. "You guys all have secret identities, right? And you know who we are. Isn't there some kind of superhero code that says it's fair all way round? That all superheroes should know everyone else's identities or something?"

V and The Dash stare at him for a long moment.

"Actually," V says, "there is."

"So – we get to know who you are?" Honey Lemon says, bouncing up from her seat and beaming eagerly.

"Sure," The Dash says, and as GoGo gets to her feet, she's aware of the little blond kid zipping over to stand next to her. _Urgh_. Not that he's not cute, but god, is this irritating. "But later, you know? After you finally meet him."

"Meet who?" GoGo snaps.

V and The Dash exchange a look – _god, _that's getting irritating – and gestures for them to follow the two siblings.

* * *

It is one thing to be tackled by your younger brother.

It is another to be tackled by your four best friends.

Tadashi's suddenly plastered to the wall against the bed as he's assaulted by his friends – Fred and Wasabi and GoGo and Honey Lemon, all in their suits as they wrap him in a massive hug, and he finds himself crying all over again and he's not ashamed of it, and he's pretty sure they are too. Even GoGo.

When they finally step back, Hiro clambering back onto the bed to sit next to his big brother again, Tadashi explains the story.

"So, it's really V here who risked everything to save me," he finally concludes, glancing over at the dark-haired girl who's draped herself over an armchair, The Dash on the sofa next to her. Then he grins, slightly: "And who's had the _honour _of looking after me since I've been stuck here."

"Honour? More like a chore," V says, pushing herself upright. "Looking at your face all day long isn't good for my eyes, you know."

Even when she's insulting him and when half her face is hidden by her mask, he can't help but feel the magnetic pull towards her. Tadashi makes a face. "And here I thought you thought I was attractive."

She laughs, lightly, and leans back on the armchair. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

It's then that Fred suddenly says: "So Violet – Violet's alive?"

_Violet_. Of course. Tadashi suddenly feels a pang of guilt, as he remembers the late night phone call, the way Fred would stare after the dark-haired girl and make her laugh.

What is he _doing_?

V pushes herself back upright again, and there's a slightly guilty look that she exchanges with The Dash as he props himself up as well. "Well – yes."

"Then – then where is she?" Fred demands. "I mean, Tadashi has superpowers, and he can set himself on fire, and that's really fantastic and all, but where's Violet? Is she okay? Can I go see her?"

Tadashi thinks that, yes, there is something very much like guilt in V's eyes as she gets off the armchair and takes a step closer to him and his friends, The Dash right in front of her.

"Well, remember what Wasabi said about secret identities?" she says, finally.

Fred looks at her for a long moment. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with – "

The short blond boy next to V sighs and drags off his mask.

For a moment, there is silence.

Tadashi supposes that this is because most people cannot associate people they personally know with real live Supers.

"Dash?"

It's Honey Lemon who says the name, her eyes widening.

Their eyes flicker back to V, and there is realisation dawning on their faces slowly as the connection is made. But Tadashi can see it's Fred who steps forward, slightly, his gaze on V intense like the kind Tadashi's never seen on his friend before.

Carefully, she pulls off her own mask, before lifting a hand and sliding her hair behind her ear, smiling a small smile.

"Hi, Fred."

He only says one word.

"Violet."


	6. wait, what?

**hey guys - thanks for all the reviews and follows and favs!**

**here is my christmas present for you -**

**(okay so i don't actually celebrate christmas but whatever yeah) **

**hope you guys enjoy! **

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me you were alive?"

Fred is curled up on the sofa the opposite end of Violet, and something twists in her heart because he looks so upset and goddammit she feels so guilty. It could be like any other evening that they've spent together in this weird room of his, the two of them sitting on opposite ends of the sofa and talking.

But it's not. Because Violet is in her supersuit and Fred is in that weird lizard suit that has now been equipped with fire and super-jumps, and she is twisting her mask in her hands and there is something in his eyes that feels like betrayal.

"I wanted to," she says, finally. "And I wanted to tell you who I am. I really did."

This is not a lie. Oh god, _please _stop looking at her like that.

"But?" he prods.

"But it's not just me who'll be affected," she says. "I mean, I'm part of a whole _family _of Supers. You find out about one of us, you find out about the whole family. Now you guys are superheroes in your own way, and we have a kind of superhero code that means we know each other's identities, you know? But before, before – it wasn't really possible. I couldn't do that to my family. I couldn't risk everything."

She gives him a pleading look, and Fred can feel himself crumbling.

This is unfair. This is totally unfair. Sure, this is actually ultra-cool that Violet is a _Superhero _(seriously, how could he have _not _realised the resemblance?), and he is happy beyond belief that she is actually _alive _(it is so goddamn hard to stop himself from super-jumping around the room because _heck she is alive and so is Tadashi_), but he should totally be pissed that she's kept something like this from him. Whilst living in his house.

This is totally unfair.

"So – " he struggles. "You're – you're actually V. The superhero V. With the epic force fields and invisibility powers?"

"With the epic force fields and invisibility powers," Violet says, and just for the fun of it and because she can, she goes invisible.

Fred immediately lets out a laugh: "Hey, that is so not fair!"

"You're the guy whose lizard suit gives him powers," says Violet's voice from somewhere by his head – and when he reaches out, there's a soft laugh and, abruptly, there is no one there. "Think you can find me?"

"Is that a challenge? Because if it is, I am totally taking you up on that."

Fred literally bounds out of his seat.

"Bring it on, lizard face."

* * *

It is half an hour later when Wasabi peers into the room and finds Fred talking to thin air.

"Uh, Fred?"

"Wasabi! Close the door, man, close the door, before she gets out!"

"Before who - ?"

"Please," says a voice, and out of nowhere Violet's head appears from somewhere near one of Fred's collection of action figures. "That's considered cheating!"

Wasabi lets out a high-pitched shriek and falls over his own feet.

Both Violet and Fred stare at him for a moment.

And then, abruptly, both let out a laugh, though the rest of Violet's body soon appears as she moves over to help him up.

"For the record," she says to Fred, "that would be cheating. And I always play fair."

"You can go invisible," he protests. "How is that fair in any way?"

"Hey, when you're Super, you make things work – "

"It's invisibility! Hey, do you think you could make, like, I dunno, an invisible sandwich or something, because that would be so cool - "

* * *

She can't remember the last time she smiled so much. Or laughed so much, for that matter.

But then again, Fred's just like that. He's the kind of guy it's just simply so easy to be around, and Violet can find herself relaxing the more time she spends with him, the tension leaving her shoulders, the smile a constant feature on her face.

Hiro tells them the plan for taking down Mr Kabuki Mask. Tadashi is not impressed.

"You're going to do _what_?" he demands.

"I totally upgraded Baymax," Hiro tells him. "I can totally do this."

"Hiro, no – "

"Hey, if this guy is using my microbots for something bad, I'd better go figure out what he's trying to do," Hiro argues. "Isn't that what I should do? Doing something to help people? This guy doesn't care who lives and who dies! And we can find him!"

"Hiro, I can't let you – "

"Tadashi." Violet's hand comes up to rest on his shoulder, her voice comforting, relaxing, and Tadashi shuts his eyes, takes a deep breath. "Maybe you should trust Hiro on this."

His eyes snap open. "_What_?"

"Look, you're afraid of losing him," she says. "I get that. But he won't be alone." She nods at the group sprawled across the room, wincing slightly when she sees Dash sitting far too close to GoGo. "Besides, he has us, too. You and me and Dash. Nothing will happen."

"Anything could happen," Tadashi tries to argue, weakly, but _goddammit _she's looking at him with those dark blue eyes again and this is _totally unfair _because he can already feel himself giving in to her –

"You have to have some faith," she tells him. And then, quite suddenly, she smiles brilliantly, turns to Hiro. "Don't think, and don't worry. When the time comes, you'll know what to do."

"But – "

"Trust him," she says. "Besides, we'll be there, won't we?"

* * *

It turns out that they are _not _there, when Hiro flies off with GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred. Violet wants to slam her head against the wall, because _of course _she should have seen this coming. The Hamadas have a ridiculous brother complex.

Tadashi can't stand the thought of letting anything happen to Hiro. Hiro is never going to let his big brother within ten metres of trouble again, if he can help it.

Violet understands that. Nearly losing his brother once is bad enough. Hiro's not about to risk it again. Hence, he flies off without a word to _any _of them, never mind that Violet and Dash have been in similar situations a ridiculous number of times before.

She understands the brother complex.

But this is just plain _ridiculous_.

She is eternally grateful, however, for tracking devices.

"You're kidding me," Tadashi says, once Violet has calmed him down enough to tell him about the tracking device she's placed not only on Hiro, but Honey Lemon, GoGo, Baymax and Fred. (She would've placed one on Wasabi, too, but the guy is far too observant and OCD to not realise that there is a tracking device pinned on him.) "You did _what_?"

"Tracking devices," Dash says, from next to her. "Pinned one on 'em all." He grins, triumphantly, because, after all, it'd been his idea to stick on the trackers. Privately, Violet had thought they were a bit too much – but she admits now that it was a pretty good idea. She, of all people, should've figured that Hiro would've run off without them. "But they've been gone for a while, so hopefully they're not too far yet."

"They can't be," says Violet, automatically, fingers flying across the keyboard as she tracks their locations on the screen. "That Kabuki mask guy has to be somewhere nearby San Fransokyo if he's got any big plans."

"Can you – "

"Got it! They're on that island."

* * *

"A submarine," Tadashi is repeating, as he stares out the windows (are they still called windows? He doesn't know) and out at the waters of San Fransokyo Bay – waters that he is currently _in_. "You guys have a car that turns into a submarine."

"Actually, it's Fred's dad's. Heathcliff let us borrow it." Dash is sitting by the controls, steering the sub, and Tadashi wonders if it's actually _legal _for a twelve-year-old Super to drive a sub. He doesn't think so. "And it's not _really _a submarine. Think of it more as – um – a super-awesome underwater car."

"Underwater car," Tadashi repeats, almost faintly.

Next to him, Violet chuckles as she leans back in her seat, keeping an eye on the coordinates on the screen. "He kind of is right."

"And we're letting a twelve-year-old drive the underwater car."

"I'm nearly thirteen!" is the indignant shout back.

Violet shrugs. "Well, apart from Mum, he's the best at driving this thing," she points out. "I can't drive this thing in water. It freaks me out."

"You can speed through the streets at ridiculous speeds on this thing," says Tadashi, "but you can't drive it underwater?"

She jabs a finger at his shoulder. "Hey. No judging."

He holds his hands up in surrender, but there's a massive grin on his face. "No judging," he says. Violet shoves his shoulder.

They haven't got much of a suit for Tadashi, but he's clad in his fireproof clothing and he's got on a spare mask, so it's better than nothing. Violet makes a mental note to herself to call up Edna. Sure, Hiro's and Fred's and their friends' suits are pretty good for homemade suits, she'll admit that, but they _definitely _need to get their suits upgraded. Plus, Tadashi needs to get a suit, too.

Well, if he wants to be a superhero, anyway.

* * *

When they arrive, though, and they surface from the water and Dash parks the now-no-longer-underwater car, it's to find that there is a massive red figure flying in the air away from the island with a smaller purple human attached to it, and with four very familiar figures pouring out of a zone marked 'Quarantine'.

"Where's Hiro?" Tadashi demands, immediately. "Is that him on Baymax?"

"Yes." GoGo is the only one who answers, grinding on her bubble gum with more force than Tadashi has ever seen before. "He's gone."

"But – what? Why?" Dash wants to know. "We just got here and we missed everything?"

"You were lucky to miss it, little man," says Wasabi, and he looks slightly shaken. "Hiro – he – "

Honey Lemon's hand comes up on his shoulder, and Fred looks forlorn, almost dejected, not even a single quip escaping his lips.

"What happened?" Violet finally asks. "Did you find out who it was?"

They exchange a glance.

"Yeah," Fred says, finally.

"Who?" Tadashi demands. "Why the heck is Hiro flying away and abandoning all of you here?"

Fred can't quite meet his eyes.

"It was Callaghan."

It's difficult to remember how to breathe.

* * *

**so...any comments? **


	7. we're doing this together

**hello to all my loyal beautiful wonderful readers! sorry for such a late update on _Collision_, i just haven't had the motivation for it at all, and when i did end up writing it, it felt like such a horrible job that i didn't want to put it up! **

**so i edited my 'horrible' work, but a lot of it's still kind of the same, so yeah. um. **

**sorry for such a delayed horribly late update!**

**it's not much, but i hope you enjoy this chapter! **

* * *

Tadashi sits in the corner on the way back to Fred's mansion, staring out at the city passing by.

Violet thinks she can understand, just a little. GoGo is the one who's told how Hiro cracked, how he'd ordered Baymax to kill Callaghan. The Korean girl is sitting curled up against Wasabi, running her fingers over her maglev disks and staring intently at them.

Violet thinks this must be hard.

First, Tadashi finds out that the man he was willing to sacrifice himself to save really set the building on fire himself. He finds out that Callaghan will stop at nothing, that he's the one who's been trying to kill his brother and his friends, that he's pushed aside Tadashi's apparent death as if it were nothing but a speck of dust on a shirt sleeve.

Then he finds out that Hiro's the one who's ordered Baymax to kill Callaghan.

It goes against everything he's ever known.

Violet bites her lip, gets Honey Lemon behind the wheel with Dash to help her.

Then she makes her way over, slowly, quietly, and sinks down onto the seat opposite Tadashi.

"Hey," she says, quietly.

"Hey."

He doesn't tear his gaze away from the window, curled up in the seat, his baseball cap in his hands. He looks tired, exhausted beyond words, and he looks so, _so sad_.

"So what are you gonna do?" she asks.

He raises his eyes at that. "I thought you would ask me if I'm okay."

"It's clear that you're not," she says, matter-of-factly, and she's relieved to see a smile flicker, faintly, across Tadashi's face. "How are you feeling?"

"Mad," he says, slowly. "Mad and sad." He turns his head out the window and starts twisting the baseball cap in his hands. "I looked up to Callaghan, you know? He was my professor, my mentor. I looked to him for everything. Told him everything. He was always there. Listening, guiding, encouraging."

Violet doesn't say anything.

"I mean, if he wanted the microbots, he could have just waited until Hiro enrolled and he could have developed them even further," continues Tadashi. "He didn't have to set the building on fire. He could have killed so many. And he didn't even care."

_And maybe that's what hurts the most_, Violet thinks.

"And Hiro – "

He looks at her again, and there's an almost hopeless look in his brown eyes. "How could he? How could he have ordered Baymax to kill Callaghan? How could he have just taken away the chip, ordered him to – to kill another human being? Callaghan may be despicable, but it's wrong to take away someone else's life – it's wrong, wrong – "

Violet finds herself leaning forward, her hands resting over Tadashi's, which have begun to pull at his cap almost relentlessly. Something twists in her chest, painfully.

"It was you," she says, gently. "It was always you. Don't you see that? You're Hiro's world. He couldn't imagine a world without you, and it was practically handed to him on a silver platter by someone who was supposed to care for you. By someone who didn't seem to regret a thing he'd done. I'm not saying what he did was right."

"It's not," he mumbles, staring at her hands over his, but Violet continues.

"He was angry," she says. "You know that. You don't know what it's like, to think you've lost someone forever, and for the person responsible to not even give a damn about it. Hiro isn't you, Tadashi. A lot of people aren't you. You're Hiro's world, you understand that, don't you? You're his everything."

"I know, but – "

"But what?" she wants to know. "If he had killed Hiro, wouldn't you have wanted him to pay?"

"But he _knows _I'm not dead."

"It's not the facts that matter here, Tadashi. Callaghan didn't feel any remorse whatsoever."

"But – "

Violet draws her hands back, and Tadashi falls silent, abruptly.

"Two years ago," she says, turning to face the window now, "an archrival of ours captured Dash. I thought he was dead. _Dead_."

She clenches her hands, and Tadashi watches her, silently.

"I hunted him down," she continues. "We all did. The whole family. We were prepared to just take him in, that was it. He would face the consequences for taking a life. That whole time – it was the thought of finding him, of at the very least seeing Dash at peace – that was what kept me going. Dash may be an annoying little insect, but he's my brother.

"And when we found him, he wouldn't say where Dash was. Just insinuated that he'd chopped my brother up into – into little pieces. And he was laughing. _Laughing_. Saying that it was a good way to end him."

There's a long, harsh gasp, and Tadashi realises that Violet is squeezing her eyes shut, rocking back and forth on the chair.

"I would have killed him," she says. "I would have killed him, right then and there. I would have killed him, but my powers aren't offensive. My mother nearly did. My dad was ready to kill him, too."

Tadashi finds himself beside her suddenly, his arms around her. He's not very sure how he's gotten there, he's not very sure why he's there, but he's there all the same, holding her because Violet looks like she is about to break into a tiny million little pieces and _his heart hurts from everything_.

"And then Dash came out of nowhere," she says, quietly, softly. "He came staggering out of the air vents, bruised and beaten and battered, but alive. _Alive_."

She smiled, painfully. "It was only because of him that we didn't kill that bastard in the end."

She turns to look at him, then, and Tadashi is suddenly aware of how very close they are. Her eyes are looking right up into his, dark-blue and long-lashed and wide, her skin pale, almost white in comparison to her domino mask and dark hair.

He has to swallow. Hard.

"It wasn't right," she says. "What any of us were planning to do. It was wrong. Taking a life doesn't mean the payment of another life in return. But you have to understand. Hiro loves you more than anything in this world."

There's a moment of silence.

"I'm taking out that karate chip," Tadashi says, and Violet's lips twitches upwards at the corners.

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Heathcliff tells them that Hiro hasn't returned, so they head over to the Lucky Cat Café and the garage. Tadashi points out a corner where they can go, unnoticed, and they pull up there and tumble out.

Tadashi goes into the garage before anyone can say anything, and it's only thanks to Violet's force field that the others don't follow.

"They need to resolve this together," she says. She can see GoGo about to protest, but Wasabi places a hand on her shoulder, and Violet turns to find Dash standing close to her.

There is a look in his eyes that tell her he remembers that incident two years ago just as clearly as she does.

She can still feel the pain, the emptiness, all that time she thought Dash was dead.

"Think they'll be okay?" Dash asks, quietly.

"I know they'll be okay."

She wishes she's as confident as she sounds.

Dash doesn't say anything, just reaches up and squeezes her hand, gently.

He's not so bad a brother. Not really.

* * *

It's not very long later that Tadashi steps out of the garage and gestures for them to come in. His eyes are slightly red, and his face looks slightly haggard but much more calm, and he sends a smile at Violet as he turns back into the garage right behind her.

"Thanks," he says, quietly.

"For what? You had everything under control. You just needed a little prodding."

He smiles at her again, gratefully, and for some strange reason there is a sudden quick _thud thud _in Violet's chest that she thinks doesn't have anything to do with the mission.

He stays with his brother as the truth is revealed, as they watch Abigail Callaghan disappear into the portal and never to be seen again. Violet can't help but frown at the footage, and she knows Dash is, too – they've encountered a villain or two who've tried this kind of teleportation thing before, and as far as she can recall, Abigail shouldn't be dead.

But maybe this is different. After all, they are different machines made by different scientists.

And something tugs in her heart, because she thinks maybe it wasn't that Callaghan didn't have any remorse for Tadashi's death. Maybe he feels like he's lost a little piece of him, because he feels that he's responsible for the death of a young life, a life that should've been filled with bright promise and a bright future, and maybe he's defensive, angry, because all he can remember is another life lost and all he can think of is his daughter.

But maybe not.

It's not like she's able to get into his mind, after all, and it's not like she knows the man herself.

"That's what Callaghan's after," says Hiro. "He's after Krei. He blames Krei."

"This is a revenge story," says Fred.

"So what are waiting for?"

Hiro's about to grab his helmet, when Tadashi's hand snaps out and stops him: "_What _do you think you're doing?"

"We have to stop Callaghan!" Hiro tells him. "There's some ceremony going on at Krei Industries. And Callaghan's got everything he needs to get his revenge – he's got all the pieces of the teleportation portal, everything. We have to stop him!"

"And are you gonna go in recklessly?" Tadashi demands. "What if you get killed?"

"I'm _not _going to get killed! Someone _has _to stop him!"

A flame flickers to life on the sleeve of Tadashi's jacket, and Violet has to clear her throat and shove him in the arm; and the fire abruptly disappears.

"You don't have to do this," she says, quietly. "We can handle this."

"Just the two of you?"

It's not Tadashi who nearly freaks out over the statement, but Fred, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as he stares at Violet in disbelief.

"You could get killed! Callaghan's relentless, man, you weren't there, he was totally ready to kill us – "

"And Dash and I have more than enough experience in these situations," Violet says, firmly. "All we have to do is get his headband transmitter, don't we? He'll lose control over the microbots."

GoGo pops a bubble, and she crosses her arms.

"You could do with some help," she says, and behind her, Wasabi nods his head, fervently.

Violet frowns: "We can – "

"Vi," says Dash, "maybe she and Wasabi are right."

"Dash, we can't drag people into these fights – "

"You've seen them practice," Dash argues. "And they did manage to hold themselves and not get themselves killed at that island. Anyway, we can do this. Together. Those microbots are bad enough in the hands of _anyone_, but you know how crazy people can get when they're on a revenge streak. Don't you remember Syndrome? All those Supers he killed?"

Violet's face turns closed at that, her eyes closing shut.

"Vi," Dash says, in a gentler voice: "You know that our chances are better, _together_. We can do this together."

A small smile cracks on her face: "When did you get so mature?"

"Hey, I've always been mature."

"Yeah, yeah."

She opens her eyes, slowly, to meet Fred's worried gaze, his face only just behind Dash's.

"We do this together," she says decisively. "_All _of us. Working together. Okay?"

She sees Tadashi open his mouth, to protest.

"We need _all _of us if we're going to go against this guy," Violet says, before he can say anything. "_Everyone_."

"Hiro is my patient," says Baymax. "I shall ensure that he is not placed in any danger."

A small, sceptical smile twists Tadashi's expression, as if at the irony at Baymax's words.

"We have to believe in each and every one of us," says Violet.

Hiro and Tadashi exchange a glance.

Then Tadashi nods.

"Let's go get Callaghan."

* * *

**so...any comments? haha**

**and also, i'd love to get your opinions on something very crucial. i'm planning to skip most of the fight scene with Callaghan at Krei Industries, because, tobehonest, i suck at fight scenes, and this story has expanded far beyond what i thought it would, and i don't know that i'm really interested in writing the fight scene then. but i'm still keeping my options open, you know? so do let me know what you think!**

**thanks!**


	8. one month later

**i've had this in my drafts for a while - it's been re-edited so many times, i can't even keep track. but yeah, i looked through it again, and decided, finally, that i'm happy with it. somewhat. **

**don't kill me if you're mad about the final pairing! i literally ship tadashi with most people. so. heh. **

**hope you like it! **

* * *

_One month later_

Robert Callaghan stares through the glass at the familiar boy sitting on the other side. It's a boy that, even one month later, Robert still can't believe is alive – alive, and breathing, and very, solidly there; not the ghost of a memory he still has nightmares over.

"Tadashi," is all Robert can say, his hands clenched in his lap.

Tadashi inclines his head. "Professor."

Tadashi doesn't offer much else, just simply sits there, staring very hard at him through the thick glass. Of course he doesn't have anything to say – it's Robert who's called this meeting, Robert who's put in request after request, sent in letter after letter, until Tadashi's finally agreed to see him.

"Is there a reason you wanted to see me?" Tadashi finally asks, and it's a vaguely familiar question, a question that's slipped out of the half-Asian boy's mouth a hundred times before at the end of lessons, outside of curriculum time. But it's never been said with so much hostility, a hard glare on his face.

"I – "

Somehow, the words can't find its way out of his mouth. Robert knows what he wants to say. He's sorry – he's sorry for the fire, he's sorry for leaving Tadashi there to die (even though he didn't), he's sorry for trying to kill Hiro Hamada and all his friends, he's sorry for being so _ready _to kill the students he taught, he's sorry for risking the lives of so many, he's sorry for everything, he's sorry for (nearly) being responsible for Tadashi's death.

Because he can remember hearing about Tadashi Hamada's death, he can remember how it nearly broke him as much as he broke over Abigail –

Because it was Krei's fault, _it was all Krei's fault_, if it weren't for Krei he would never have needed those microbots, he would never have used that fire, he would never have –

Robert clenches his fists.

He can remember the fight at Krei Industries. He can remember seeing the same familiar people he's seen before – GoGo, that wild adrenaline junkie, all dressed in yellow and speeding around at the incredible speeds she's always dreamed of; Wasabi, as they call him, large and muscled and so ridiculously worried about _everything_ and yet doing everything that he could to help his friends and the people in danger; Honey Lemon, usually so sweet and kind and never dreaming of violence, and still going to ridiculous lengths, putting chemistry to use in ways that he's never thought of before, in ways that only that bubbly girl can dream of; and Fred, silly, fanboy, mascot Fred, who's amazed even Robert with his enthusiasm for 'everything science'.

And Hiro. Hiro Hamada, that happy-looking boy who looks as if he's only ever known how to smile, whose brother's supposed death wrecked him to pieces.

He can remember seeing a new figure – three new figures – dropping down with them and the healthcare companion Baymax (and he can remember feeling like he's been ripped into pieces again, because Baymax was – is – Tadashi's, and always has been, Tadashi Hamada's months and months and months of work). Two figures, easily recognisable in those red-and-black suits he's always seen on television – the two elder Incredibles children, the girl who can turn invisible and the boy who can run so fast that he can run over water.

And the last figure, clad in simple clothing that allows him to move around easily, clothes that offer him protection almost as good as armour.

_Tadashi Hamada_.

He didn't recognise Tadashi immediately, of course. He couldn't have, not in the clothes that he'd worn, not in the black domino mask that he'd been wearing.

Robert hadn't even spared him a second glance before sending more microbots his way – the same that he'd done to everyone else.

And then they'd all broken out of the cages that he'd created.

He'd fought, fought with his microbots, determined to get his revenge –

And then he'd seen him.

Tadashi.

His hands on fire – _on fire!_ – as he took out the chains of microbots, eyes hard, his features just recognisable through the domino mask that he wore. It hadn't been very difficult not to recognise him, not when every inch of Tadashi's face was etched into Callaghan's memory, a reminder of the death and the pain and the guilt and that _everything was Krei's fault_.

"Professor," Tadashi says, and he's pushing back the chair – "If there's nothing to say – "

"No!"

The word comes out more urgently, more agitated, than Robert expected. It stops Tadashi in his tracks, makes the boy lower himself back onto the chair, looking at his old professor with those wide brown eyes.

They're brown eyes that are dark now, dark with loss and pain and anger and Robert knows that it's his fault.

"I'm sorry," Robert finds himself saying. "I'm – I'm sorry, Tadashi, I truly am. I didn't mean for – for any of this to happen."

"You set a building on fire. A building _with people inside_."

"I didn't think. I just – everything was right there – it was so simple to just – and Krei, I knew he would find a way to get your brother's microbots, I had to stop him, had to take them before he did – "

"You nearly killed a _lot _of people, Professor." Tadashi's voice doesn't even hold the slightest hint of warmth in it. "You tried to kill my brother. You tried to kill my friends."

"They were going to stop me – and I – Abigail – I couldn't – "

It's getting difficult to breathe.

_Forgive me,_ he wants to say. _Forgive me. If Abigail won't forgive me, at least let me seek forgiveness from one person_.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Professor!" Tadashi nearly explodes. "You would've torn apart families, hurt people, destroyed so much and possibly wreck lives – just for revenge? You didn't even care if anyone died – hell, everyone thought _I _was dead! I would've been dead if I hadn't been lucky! And all you cared about was your revenge on Krei – didn't you think of all those other people that could've been hurt by your actions? Didn't you think that maybe Abigail wouldn't have wanted that? Did you even think at all?"

"I was blind," Robert finds himself saying, softly, quietly, his eyes squeezed shut now because he can't look at Tadashi _he can't. _"I was blinded by my own grief and anger. I lost everything when I lost Abigail. I couldn't – I couldn't see anything past that."

There is silence.

"I am so, so sorry, Tadashi."

More silence.

"I'm sorry that you nearly died because of me. Because of my anger. My blind rage. I'm sorry for causing so much hurt and pain to you, to your brother, to your family, to your friends, to everyone."

The look on Tadashi's face is softening, slightly.

"Can you – can you forgive me?"

* * *

It's not easy, to get back to the café and slip back into easy, normal chatter. It's especially not easy to see the brand-new couple sitting at a table by the window, with smiles on their faces that seem to light them up completely.

"Was it worth it to finally agree to see him?" Hiro wants to know. Hiro's angry, Tadashi knows – angrier, he thinks, than even he could be. "You look mad."

"He would've kept sending in requests to see me anyway," says Tadashi. "I might as well have just gone."

Hiro hands him a donut.

"It was hard," he admits. "He was my mentor, my guide, my role model ever since I joined the college, you know? And then he just – ripped everything away from me. Left me to die. Tried to kill you. GoGo. Honey Lemon. Wasabi. Fred. The people I love."

There is a moment of silence between them.

"He was just so blinded that he couldn't see anything else," says Tadashi.

"He wanted to apologise," says Hiro.

"Yeah."

"You're not telling me something."

Tadashi scratches the back of his head.

"He wanted my forgiveness."

Hiro stares intently at his gummy bears. "What did you do?"

There is a pause. Tadashi bites into the donut, tries to swallow down some coffee.

"I did what I thought was right," he says, finally.

"Then you did the right thing," Hiro shrugs.

And Tadashi wonders just when his brother became so wise.

There's a burst of laughter, and his head twists to catch sight of Violet holding her hand over her mouth, trying to contain her mirth at something Fred's just said, and there's a slight pang in Tadashi's chest.

It's not that he's upset. Not _really_. He's happy for them – he's happy for Fred, he's happy for Violet, he's happy for how happy they are together.

He just kind of wishes that it's him, and not one of his best friends, sitting with her.

But then again, maybe not. Fred's one of his best friends. He wouldn't want to mess up that friendship, not for anything. And the way he and Violet look together – they look like they match, like they fit together perfectly, smoothing over each other's rough patches and they just make sense.

Not like him. No, he's just leaned heavily on Violet, ever since he found himself with fire powers he couldn't quite control. And Violet – well, maybe she did like him, maybe she did like him a little more than she liked most people.

It's just that – she and Fred, they make sense together. They're right for each other.

It took Violet a while to get her feelings right, Tadashi knows. It took her a while to get her emotions together, to figure out what she really felt. It was an awkward conversation, when he tried to ask her out, and she had to turn him down. He can still remember the agonising look on her face as she got the words out. It took even longer for Fred to get up the courage to ask her out properly.

But he's glad that she's with someone who makes her smile so much, and he's glad that Fred's found someone.

And he's glad that they're still friends, great friends. It's like nothing's changed between him and Fred, and as for Violet – he could never say that she's his best friend, but he guesses she is kind of like a sister he's never had.

"Hey, you think you could take over my shift for a while?" Hiro wants to know.

Tadashi narrows his eyes: "Where are you going?"

Hiro makes a face. "I'm not going anywhere. But Aunt Cass isn't back yet from wherever she went. And someone needs to clear the tables. I figured you'd rather take orders and stuff than clean up."

Tadashi finds himself smiling. "Yeah, okay, bonehead."

So he finds himself standing behind the counter, bringing out donuts and croissants and bagels and pouring out coffee and hot chocolate.

He can hear Violet and Fred from here, hear them talking, laughing. He can see how easily they lean into each other, he can watch Fred pull at her hair, watch Violet snag his beanie, watch how they look at each other, bickering, bantering.

"Oh, c'mon, Dash totally likes me – "

"Okay, so maybe he likes you a _little _more than he likes Tony – "

"Good enough for me!"

"But that could be just 'cause you bought him pizza that one time – "

"Ha, I bet you're just jealous I haven't bought you pizza yet – "

"Well, considering you and Dash decided to have a conversation about _comic books_, I'm actually kind of glad I wasn't there – "

"Aw, you know you're really actually interested – "

It's kind of distracting, to say the least.

* * *

It's a while before suddenly Violet is standing at the counter in front of him, and Tadashi has to blink, almost takes a step back – but he stops himself, just in time, and he brings up a smile. "You know, if you wanted a coffee or something, all you had to do was yell."

"Nah, I've got enough coffee and donuts there to last me a lifetime," Violet tells him, and she grins back at him widely; but then her face falls. "I wasn't here to ask you about the coffee, actually. I wanted to know if you were okay."

"If I was – okay?"

"Yeah. After your visit to Callaghan today."

She tugs at her hair, gazes up at him. "I mean, I know he's important to you, and everything, and I just wanted to make sure – "

"He asked for my forgiveness," Tadashi blurts out.

"I – oh."

She stands looking at him, and him back at her, and he can't read her, can't tell what she's thinking.

"Did you?" she finally asks.

He shrugs, tells her exactly what he told Hiro: "I did what I thought was right."

She smiles then, brilliantly. "Then you did the right thing."

"You think so?"

"I know so." Violet beams at him. "You're a good guy, Tadashi. Have faith in your decisions. Okay? The same way you have faith in everything and everyone else."

He can't help but smile back at her, widely.

* * *

It's when he's getting another cup of coffee for himself that the girl turns up at the counter, muscular and dark-haired with bright brown eyes and a little girl next to her in a long red dress, with some sort of furry blue creature that looks vaguely like a dog.

Tadashi has to blink a few times, because one, that doesn't _really _look like a dog, not really, and two, _dammit this girl is attractive_.

"Hi," the girl says, and he notices that she's wearing a crop top and a smile a mile wide – "Can I get a cup of coffee and, uh, a slice of that chocolate cake?"

"_Two _cups of coffee," the little girl pipes up, and is immediately overshot by the older girl.

"No," the girl his age says, firmly. "I am not letting him have any coffee."

"But – "

"Nope."

The younger girl makes a face, and the older girl just smiles and rolls her eyes and turns back to Tadashi, who's already grinning as he gets out a slice of cake and a cup of coffee.

"Younger siblings?" he sympathises. "I've got a little brother, too. He convinced me to take his shift behind the counter because he needed to clean up the tables, but – "

He shrugs, gestures to the rest of the café where there is clearly no younger version of himself sweeping up the floor.

"I know, they can be such a pain sometimes," the girl says, grinning back at him, ruffling the younger girl's hair when she lets out an annoyed _hmph_. "But they're not so bad."

"Definitely," he agrees. "I'm Tadashi, by the way."

The girl smiles. "Interesting name. I'm – "

"Hey, that's so cool! Is that really a blue dog or some kind of hybrid or a really cool alien?"

* * *

_END. _

* * *

**so, uhh, any comments? haha**


End file.
